At AJ we base our whole business model around attribution and our clients’ results prove how effective this approach is.

When we start working with a client, we strongly encourage them to take this philosophy on board. To unlock the full roll-out potential of print media, it is crucial to have a strong understanding of where your sales come from. This understanding is garnered directly from results and assumptions of customer habits can hinder this process.

We started working with Charles Tyrwhitt last year and though they were well experienced in offering discount codes, we felt that obstacles were created for their customers in the way these codes were used in their ads. They had a mechanism in place which required consumers to type in a unique URL to access their offers. The thought process was that the customer would have saved the ad with the URL. However, we believed this was causing them to miss out on orders. We felt this was purely because the majority of customers would actually use Google Search to find Charles Tyrwhitt, which would instead take them to the homepage and therefore not allow access to the offers.

After suggesting a different approach to Charles Tyrwhitt, they agreed to test a code at checkout via the main site and the results now speak for themselves. Times Magazine sales increased by a whopping 415%. Metro sales also saw a phenomenal growth, up by 375%. These results have now put press firmly back on the plan for Charles Tyrwhitt in 2019.

To hear more about how AJ’s insights can deliver serious gains, contact Lesley Bowman on 01225 758222 or email lesley@aja.co.uk.

Like clouds heavy with rain and the brightness of a summer sky, our lives are made up of both darkness and light. When life throws some darkness our way, it can be hard to see through the clouds however, it’s at times like these that the best of us knuckle down and make sacrifices to do something positive and serve as an inspiration to others. Recently, AJ’s own Alice Buttling received some desperately sad news. Her step-sister Becky, who having fought breast cancer and been in remission for two years, was told that the cancer had returned and that it is so aggressive it is incurable.

Facing this diagnosis with awe-inspiring bravery and selflessness, Becky is determined to fight on. In emulation of Becky’s courage and resilience Alice has taken up a mighty challenge in a bid to raise money for Becky’s chosen charity, The Dorset County Hospital Charity.

Alice has set herself the goal of running every day in 2019, come rain or shine, with a target distance of 500 miles. Completing this Herculean task, alongside duties as a single mum of three and Agency MD, will be a truly impressive feat and one worthy of sponsorship. So many of us have felt the cruel touch of Cancer in our lives or witnessed it in the lives of our friends and family – not surprising given the fact there are more than 360,000 new reported cases in the UK every year.

If you would like to offer your support you can donate by visiting Alice’s JustGiving page below and follow her progress via Facebook. Alice has Attinger Jack cheering her on, along with her many other supporters and we hope many of you will also show your support for this exceptionally deserving cause.

With more and more channels available these days, it is vital to determine which channels can yield the best results.

When it comes to planning a TV campaign, we always aim for a mix of targeted channels. It is important to diversify, so we select a variety of channels, ranging from those with larger viewing figures to drive volume, to much smaller channels to build frequency. Our balanced and cost-effective strategy delivers proven results in terms of response but also positively impacts the performance of all other mediums, building awareness as a by-product.

We have identified Smithsonian, a new channel launching in February, as a great fit for a number of our clients. Named in homage of the Smithsonian Institute – a collection of some of the world’s greatest museums – it will provide “award-winning programming that shines new light on popular genres such as air and space, history, science, nature and pop culture”. Targeting ABC1 professional males over the age of fifty, we see a great deal of potential in this platform for our clients, so watch this space.

At AJ, we are always willing to test new avenues in a bid to deliver great results and with our Adalyser software for TV, we’ll know exactly which channels are working for our clients and tailor our strategies accordingly.

To find out more about how AJ can target your customers via TV, contact Lesley Bowman on 01225 758222 or email lesley@aja.co.uk.

January can be a tough month. Most of us are busy fending off the temptations which can derail our New Year’s resolutions and the dizzy heights of Christmas and New Year parties seem a distant memory. In this period there can be a parallel slump in both energy and response rates, but we’ve found a great way to beat those January Blues.

Like a jogger keen to shed some turkey and mince pie-related weight gain, the key is to get active early. This means the spirit of post-Christmas sales are still present. In previous years we’ve found that shopping momentum, driven by deals, can continue well into the third week of January. This can be a lucrative period, there are deals to attract customers and the dreaded January credit card bills haven’t yet dampened their enthusiasm.

We made the most of cheap deals from the papers closing the first weekend of January and encouraged our clients to keep spending, particularly during this first weekend. Following this strategy, we’ve achieved particularly great results in January for Cashmere Centre and H&B.

To hear more about how AJ can stave off your January Blues contact Lesley Bowman on 01225 758222 or email lesley@aja.co.uk.

With Christmas creeping ever closer, it’s time for that most festive of office traditions – the AJ Christmas card.

Once the office divas – not naming names…. okay, we all know I mean Sam and Vince…had negotiated hair and make-up, sympathetic lighting and control over any re-touching, we were ready for the photoshoot. Lesley had been busy preparing the location for the shoot and there was such laughter coming from the boardroom that we all wondered what on earth was happening. We soon found out it was the ridiculous range of headgear that was providing the source of her merriment.

Photoshoot over, a mince pie was our reward for suffering in the name of Christmas cheer this hat-humiliation. A big thank you to Lesley for organising the card – here she is taking a break from making new business calls and modelling the hottest hat from this year’s turkey range.

I’m sure you’ll be waiting eagerly for the postman to give you our card featuring the whole team. Happy Christmas from all of us at Attinger Jack!

With 2018 drawing to a close, we find ourselves reflecting on another year in the life of AJ and the direct response world. It’s been an interesting one, filled with many challenges and an exciting one too. We’ve clients stepping outside their comfort zone, testing many new ideas and we’ve welcomed a raft of new clients on board too, bringing new areas of expertise into the business. And we’re delighted to welcome back three clients who have returned after testing the waters elsewhere.

We’ve said sad farewells to a couple of members of the team but we’re also delighted to have been joined by fabulous, fresh talent bringing their knowledge and expertise – along with a lot of energy!- into the fold.

There are so many people we have worked with over the last 12 months who have helped us to run our business, and to be part of it, and we’d like to say thank you.

With winter’s chill approaching, knitwear becomes the most appreciated part of anyone’s wardrobe and for Woolovers it’s a crucial time for their sales. Woolovers have used AJ in the past but then parted to focus on a change of direction into brand and online. Though, when their results had fallen to a point of not being cost effective, they got back in touch. They wanted to see if we could bring back the cosy and comforting numbers they enjoyed when we worked together previously.

So, we did some analysis and came up with a low risk plan to see if we could warm things up again. We managed to secure cheap rates, better positions and new titles to test, as well as going back into banker titles like The Telegraph and testing some prime sites, like the OBC. Results were so strong that the budgets have increased, and press has again become a key driver on new customers. We think this quote from the client sums it up nicely….

‘Our previous Media agency wasn’t performing; the ROI’s had fallen to a level of negligible return and spend had declined to almost nothing. We moved the business back to AJ and immediately saw a difference. We worked to a tightened budget but they managed to deliver as much media coverage with positive ROI.

AJ have bought some great positions, which have really worked well, so much so, we have now increased the budget’.

We hear the CEO, regarding our efforts in the press, even quipped “It’s a licence to print money. Do it!”. It will make the cold winter mornings on our way to work that much easier knowing we deliver such brilliant results for our clients.

To hear more about how AJ can help you capitalise on press content contact Lesley Bowman on 01225 758222 or email lesley@aja.co.uk.

Recently we have run our first press ad for Pasta Evangelists – we’d love to know what you think.

After hearing about Pasta Evangelists, I just had to try them. I would consider myself a committed Italophile; I love the people, the history and the culture. However, at the heart of my appreciation is the wonderful food. So, I was extremely excited to discover Pasta Evangelists and I must say the divine connotations of their company name certainly ring true. The artisanal pasta, the sauces and garnishes authentically sourced from Italy herself seemed heaven-sent as they appeared through my letterbox. I enjoyed it immensely and a truly delicious product deserves an equally satisfying ad campaign.

Pasta Evangelists have already built a healthy social media following and database but are new to press. Having seen the success Attinger Jack has brought to clients like Donald Russell through press, they wanted to see if it could also be a strong recruitment channel for them.

Direct Response Focused Advert, left, is tested against the more Brand Focused Ad on the right

As always, we are taking a cautious and considered approach, testing a single insertion with an AB split in The Telegraph, bought short term to keep the costs down, but still in a great position under the Food & Drink editorial. One creative is more direct response – telling the story of Pasta Evangelists and setting the scene. The other is more brand orientated – with less text, more images and a striking colour block. The jury is still out as to which will perform best. We have a sweepstake running in the office with a mouth-watering prize of a Pasta Evangelists voucher up for grabs. Most of our team feel that the ‘brand’ version will prove the most successful but we’re keen to know what you think.

My opinion? I would go with the direct response ad. If you’re in the mood for pasta? The Devon crab ravioli with Lemon pangrattato, samphire and parsley butter. Or why not choose your favourite from the wonderful range of delicious dishes available at https://pastaevangelists.com/

Buon appetito!

To hear more about how AJ can create an ad campaign customers can really get their teeth into, contact Lesley Bowman on 01225 758222 or email lesley@aja.co.uk.

Though the newspaper market is seen to be in decline, at Attinger Jack we very much believe there is still plenty of life left in the press arena.

Whilst we can’t ignore the drop in circulations, we also cannot deny that over 5 million newspapers are bought mid-week and 4 million are sold on a Sunday. There is no need for a dramatic call to ‘stop the press!’, like the clichéd and exasperated editor in a scene from a newsroom-based film. With still healthy circulation figures like this, we must simply adapt to the market to optimise advertising content.

What is interesting is that some in the newspaper industry have handled this shifting market better than others. The Times and The Sunday Times have seen very small circulation decreases whilst their major competitor, The Telegraph, have seen greater declines of 20% year on year. The Telegraph would perhaps argue that The Times’ figures are inflated regarding bulk sales. Despite this potential dispute, we can see from the results of our ads that the distribution continues to be of great value to advertisers, with The Times being a very strong title for our clients.

From the perspective of advertising agencies, we desire a greater initiative to combat circulation decline and increase audience engagement. Even if this were to mean free copies to a valued and valuable audience, rather than accept the decline and print fewer copies each month.

Several newspapers and magazines are meeting this circulation challenge head on and are finding success. The I – a concise, low cost newspaper, has overtaken The Guardian and is hot on the heels of The Express, Star and Telegraph. Whilst Private Eye, The Week and The Spectator are showing increase upon increase in their circulations, with Private Eye now out selling some newspapers. This proves that the market is not only still alive, but it is evolving.

The traditional newspapers have not yet moved with the times and an eye for adaptation is now crucial in this market. Attinger Jack would like to see the same devotion and initiative that they display in their advertising to be matched by the newspapers. It is a must to encourage new readers and re-engage with those who have strayed from print into digital versions.

To discuss how AJ can get results for you in this changing market, contact Lesley Bowman on 01225 758222 or email lesley@aja.co.uk.

We bring success back to press for our clients, which is why Bunches has returned to press as a new customer acquisition source.

Though press circulations used to be triple what they are now, the market is certainly not dead. It still has a vital role to play alongside other streams of advertising. Paramount in making press advertising a success is finding an agency who will use their expertise with passion and willingness for their clients, Attinger Jack is that agency.

Often clients find that when they first advertise online they get results that beat the press figures. Particularly when they are generating repeat business as they find the new online audience has a much higher proportion of new customers and that press percentages have risen as the ads have run and run. So, the budgets shift into online and away from press, in some cases even dropped altogether. However, when Bunches found that their results from online began falling, they knew they had to rethink.

At AJ we have brought success back to press for a number of clients including; Donald Russell, Serious Readers and Thomas Sanderson. Hearing this, Bunches agreed to a £10K test plan to see if we could do the same for them. That is exactly what we did, and Bunches have gone on to spend more than double this figure in the last couple of months and have confirmed a budget with us for November and December. Though don’t just take our word for it, hear what Bunches had to say about our partnership for yourselves.

“We decided to return to press after an 8 year break and AJ held our hand through the process. AJ’s initial approach of A/B testing different propositions really helped us craft a design and an offer that would get us the best ROI. AJ have delivered some great rates for us, enabling us to get our brand in national press within budget”

For matters of the heart say it with flowers, for your business say it with press.

To hear more about how AJ can keep your advertising figures in bloom, contact Lesley Bowman on 01225 758222 or email lesley@aja.co.uk.